Minority populations, including African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans, and certain segments of the nation’s Asian/Pacific Islander population, are not present in significant numbers within the public health workforce. While there are outstanding minorities in the public health career path, access to health professions remains unequal for minorities.
To increase access to advanced study and career opportunities in public health for minorities, the Public Health Foundation (PHF) was awarded a grant from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for the development of an outreach plan aimed at motivating minority undergraduate students to pursue a career in public health. PHF utilized TRAIN, the nation’s premier learning management system for professionals who protect and improve the public’s health, and collaborated with Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) – a Historically Black College or University (HBCU) – to pilot a multi-year outreach program specifically designed to increase the number of minority undergraduate students whose awareness of the public health field will lead them into this career path.
Through TRAIN, FAMU students completed at least one of two online introductory public health trainings. After completing the training and the evaluation, out of the 37 students that participated in this pilot, over 50% stated that the initiative provided a good introduction to the field of public health. To further determine the impact of this strategic recruitment model, these students are being tracked/monitored throughout the course of this multi-year grant. Data collected during the first year of tracking indicated that 9 of the 14 students responding to the tracking questionnaire were at that time, enrolled in public health classes at FAMU.
At the request of CDC, PHF is replicating this initiative at other colleges/universities, one of which is the University of Arizona’s Mel & Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health (MEZCOPH). Known for its community-based research and focus on eliminating health disparities, particularly among populations of the Southwest, MEZCOPH offers public health education at the undergraduate and graduate level. Located in Tucson, AZ, the University of Arizona’s student body is comprised of 33.8% minority students (2010 enrollment demographics for the minority population were: 55% Hispanic Americans, 23% Asian American, 12% African American, and 10% Native American). With such a diverse student population, the University of Arizona is a perfect academic institution at which to replicate this minority outreach initiative.
If your academic institution would like to participate in this outreach initiative please contact Lois Banks at lbanks@phf.org by no later than November 30, 2011.